Asia Cup 2025: Former India Cricketer Manoj Tiwary Announces Boycott of India-Pakistan Match Over Terror Concerns

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the high-profile India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, former cricketer Manoj Tiwary announced that he will “boycott” the game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent Operation Sindoor. In the lead-up to the match, there had been widespread demands from opposition leaders to pull out of the fixture. However, the Centre gave its approval for India to play against Pakistan in multi-nation tournaments.“It is a very unfortunate situation. The problem has been ongoing for years. From Pulwama to Pahalgam to Pathankot to all the numerous terrorist attacks. No Indian has forgotten this... You want to play the India vs Pakistan match in such a situation," Tiwary said. "I have never been anti-sports; I have been a Cricket player, and I am a Sports Minister. I had said that on a personal front, I am boycotting the India vs Pakistan match as well as the Asia Cup because I cannot watch this. It needs to be understood that this is just a sport; this is not life. We are comparing human lives to sports; this should never be done,” he said.“Only the families of those who die in the line of duty while defending the nation and innocent civilians who are killed in terrorist attacks can understand this. So, I feel this should not have happened...” he added.The India-Pakistan rivalry has played out 13 times in the T20I format, with India leading 9-3. One of Pakistan’s three wins came in the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai — their last T20I victory over India.India defeated Pakistan by six runs in New York the last time the two sides met, during the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Jasprit Bumrah produced a stunning spell to turn the match around when Pakistan looked on course for victory.Overall, on the Asia Cup stage, India and Pakistan have met 19 times across both ODI and T20I formats. India have won 10, Pakistan six, while three matches were abandoned.